Red eyes and gloved hands
by librikolibri
Summary: A (late) contribution to SoMa week 2015. Latest: Day 7 - Coming of Age. Maka just wants her birthday kiss already.
1. Geeking Out

**Day 1 – Geeking Out**

_In which Soul geeking out over music is a sight to behold and trouble for his meister, because she still can't understand a word of what he's talking about._

* * *

First things first: She was not, under any circumstances, going to admit that Soul was adorable when he was geeking out over music like now. One, because it would hurt his cool-obsessed ego and two, because that would be too similar to a confession and she wasn't going to tread that unchartered territory yet.

So, Soul was not cute, rambling on and on about that Jazzband whose concert in Death City she'd gotten him tickets to for his birthday. At least not as cute that she could actually forgive herself for telling him that, so she tried not to. It didn't help that even though he could have chosen anyone – Kilik for example or Liz, _they_ both appreciated that type of music – he'd given the second ticket to her. She'd tried to protest against it, saying that she didn't understand music, especially that type of music, but he'd said something about how it would feel weird if she wasn't the one with him and she'd given in. "Besides", he'd added, "I can finally get you to listen to some _real_ music. Not that techno shit you're always hearing." In the end, that had gotten him a swift hit to the head with the thickest book she'd been able to whip out in under three seconds. She'd been a little on the short fuse that day and Soul making fun of her choice of music hadn't helped brighten her mood.

Because here was the thing: She _just_ listened with Soul to the same concert and he was talking nonstop about it and she _couldn't understand a thing._

How much of a sorry excuse of a partner was she?

Not sharing the same interests was one thing, but being completely ignorant to his musical world? He liked to call her musically illiterate and she denied it often enough, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see the difference between a C and a D and she definitely couldn't make sense of how harmonies and rhythms worked together and why a melody sounded good. And what in Death's name were those seventh chords Soul had mentioned?

She sighed, smiling a bit at Soul – who still seemed lost in his own world – but otherwise saying nothing. She wouldn't have had anything to say after all. It would be better to just let him lead his conversation alone.

After perhaps five or ten minutes (or thirty, she wasn't good at guessing), Soul noticed that he was quite leaving his partner out with his one-man-conversation. And that she hadn't complained once because of it.

"What got you so silent there? Usually you'd be talking off my head by now." As insightful as her partner was most of the time, he could be quite oblivious too occasionally. It wasn't like he hadn't already noticed ages ago that her opinion wasn't exactly the best to ask for if it came to music. "What did you think of the band anyway? I know I liked them." he smirked "You should get me presents like that more often."

"It was … good, I guess." It was the best she could think of, mostly because she really didn't know what else to say to the concert of the band playing his beloved Jazz, but by the way he snorted and leaned closer, she could see he wasn't satisfied.

"That's not everything, is it? You're hiding something!" he said, accusingly pointing a finger at her "You're keeping something from me. You shouldn't keep things from me. I'm your_ partner_." He was right. He was her partner. It was just that she wasn't good enough to be his.

"I just – I don't understand music, is that enough for you?" She spat, angry and confused and irritated. It shouldn't be like this, _she_ shouldn't be like this, so stupid and unable to understand even a smidgen of her partner's world.

He snorted "You don't _understand_ music. You _feel _it. Right here." he placed a hand on her ribcage, over the place where her heart was. She should have whacked him over the head, because his hand was basically lying halfway over her left breast. She would have too, if she hadn't become so breathless by his actions. He started speaking again "You liked it, right? When they were playing." She nodded cautiously. "And you like it when I'm playing." This time it wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway. "Then that's enough. You don't need to understand more than that." He stepped away from her again and grinned his stupid (adorable) shark's grin. "And besides, I don't understand your fixation on books either. So don't beat yourself up over it. You not understanding music doesn't make you any less of a partner. Even if your taste in music sucks." Stunned, but with a warm, fuzzy feeling in her gut she watched him reach out and take her hand.

"Come on. You're looking cold already."

And maybe it was because his eyes were such a light shade of red, lighter than usual, or because his hand was really, really warm, but she couldn't keep it in anymore.

"Soul? Did you know that you're really adorable when you're geeking out?"

Which ended in the rapid spluttering of her scythe, who insisted that it was not 'geeking out' and that that was for nerds like her and guys weren't _supposed_ to be adorable and a few curses that were definitely neither cute nor adorable.

She kissed him for it anyway.


	2. Cuddles

**Day 2 – Cuddles**

_Cuddling with Maka was nice, but it got a little trying when there was stuff aroused that should definitely not be._

rated M for implications

* * *

Cuddling was nice.

Soul had reached that conclusion about two years into their partnership, when they were on a mission somewhere in Iceland and the heater wasn't good enough to really keep them warm. That had been the first time they had shared a bed and limbs and they definitely didn't have to worry about the cold anymore that night. Because Maka was nice and warm and Soul liked it too much to stop doing it once they were back home in Death City.

Maka had been a little weirded out by his request to cuddle again a few nights later when they were back home and _not_ freezing off their asses without additional body heat (and he admitted it, he'd been all sorts of uncool and awkward while asking for the favour), but that didn't stop her from complying with it after giving him a long, measuring look. Of course, her compliance may or may not have had to do with the fact that he'd still been pretty emotionally closed off back then and hatred of men or not, she was his partner and wanted him to open up at least to her. Not that he'd known that back then, but he hadn't asked either. He wasn't going to look a gift horse – or in his case gift _cuddles_ – in the mouth and the following cuddles were something he quickly became addicted to.

With time, it became a habit for them to cuddle whenever they had the opportunity to and unlike the first awkward times, they fell into the habit as easily as breathing now. He'd throw an arm over her shoulder whenever an occasion to do so arose and she'd scoot as close to him as possible when they were sitting down somewhere. Only not at school, because even if she'd gotten cooler over the years, she was still the same braniac she'd been when he'd first met her. His beautiful braniac.

Yes, his. His very own girlfriend. That was something that had actually happened because of cuddling too, because that had been one of the times where he'd gotten drowsy with sleep and she'd asked him who he liked and it had just slipped out. He'd blacked out on her a few seconds later, because he had been honestly tired, but that didn't stop her from smiling so much that it looked like it would hurt her cheeks the next morning, still cuddling up to him before she'd whispered an "I like you too, doofus" and got up to make breakfast. It had been the best way to wake up to date.

Maka being his girlfriend had many perks. For one, he was actually allowed to be even bigger on PDA than they had been before (she didn't really care as long as he was kissing her senseless) and she allowed him to cheat off her now when he was on the verge of failing a test. He'd just have to make it up to her later. But the biggest perk was being able to kiss her, make out and touch as long as it wasn't too intense. Their cuddle sessions had never been more enjoyable.

Of course, now that he actually knew that she was into him, it was getting increasingly frustrating to have a lapful of meister and not being allowed to advance to a desperate romp on the couch or just furious grinding. But he was a good partner – and boyfriend now – and he wouldn't do that without her permission.

At least that was what he was intending to do, but he was beginning to think that it would be better to be at least a little selfish. Why? Because she was cuddling with him and she had been making out with him before she had abruptly stopped, leaving him completely hanging. And he was aroused too, so _freaking much_, and he was hard and he was not supposed to be hard, she was still lying on top of him for fuck's sake. Which he guessed though was – kind of – the core of his problem.

"Soul. Oh my Death, Soul, do you seriously have a boner?"

He groaned. Of all things. "I miiight, yeah." She pinked. Looked down at his crotch. Pinked some more. He wondered if he was a sick bastard for getting turned on by it. "So does this mean you want …" she let the rest hang in silence. Yes. Yes, he wanted, so fucking much. But he wasn't going to and it was all for the sake of his meister. "It's alright, you really don't gotta – force yourself or something. Just let me be for a little while?" Death, he sounded so uncool. And he was so screwed.

"I-I-I …" she stuttered, blush erupting into a deep shade of scarlet. "I just thought … you wouldn't be ready yet." she looked away from him. He'd heard right, right? Right. He should have counted on Maka being ridiculous again. "You know, it's usually the guy worrying about the girl not being ready." She looked him in the eyes again, a bit unsure and very embarrassed

"You're my weapon. I _have _to worry about you. But -" she stopped shortly, as if gathering courage, before continuing in a huskier voice "I'm definitely ready."

He gulped, throat suddenly dry. "Yeah. Me too."

It went without saying that post-coital cuddles quickly became his new favourite.


	3. Catharsis

**Day 3 – Catharsis**

_In which Maka goes into the Shibusen woods to blow off some steam._

catharsis – the purging of emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music

* * *

_Hit._

This was stupid. She shouldn't be so agitated and restless, being angry should have been enough. She shouldn't be feeling like an insecure little child. Shouldn't, couldn't, because that meant that she was still as stupid and naïve as she had been all those years ago.

_Hit. Hit. Kick._

And really, why had she even thought that he would be different from all those other times? He certainly hadn't given her a single reason to and she'd still gone and believed him not to screw things up for once in his miserable life. That couldn't be so hard, could it? She wasn't messing her life up, why couldn't he just one time keep his own in check?

_Kick. Hit. Block. Kick._

Was it because he'd promised her that he wouldn't screw this up, even if he'd broken countless promises he'd made before? Or was it because he was still saying how much he loved her, how much he loved her mother, how much his family meant to him, even if he'd broken it himself?

_Hit. Kick. Hit._

Had she honestly expected Spirit Albarn to keep it in his pants for one single week just because Mama was visiting? Yes. Yes, she had. And how stupid she'd been to do so, too! He hadn't even tried not to flirt with the waitresses at the restaurant they'd gone to and every other female they encountered that evening. He hadn't even tried to hide it from her Mama's watching and distrustful eyes.

_Block. Kick. Kick._

He hadn't even stopped when Kami had called him out on it, telling him that even if they weren't married anymore, that sort of behaviour was disgusting and she didn't want to see it. He said he understood. He said he'd stop. It didn't even take him another fucking minute before he was at it again, throwing the waitress ogling glances and lewd remarks.

_Hit. Hithithithithit._

Couldn't he just – for one damn week – act like the normal father he was supposed to be? For the one week she wanted him to? Bad enough that he had practically made the moves on everything that walked and had a vagina when they were out eating with Mama, it had also sparked a fight of proportions she hadn't experienced since she was a child and her parents just short of a divorce. She'd left. She didn't need the reminder of her not so perfect childhood and her parents were so caught up in an argument that they wouldn't even notice she was gone.

_Hi-_

"What are you doing here?" Shocked, she turned around, suddenly facing Soul, who had probably not just decided on a whim to go for a walk in the Shibusen woods, which were gloomy and dark and generally not the best route to pick for a night stroll.

"Training", she replied with a clipped tone. She still hadn't gotten this evening wholly out of her system and it was making her irritable and unsociable. Even if her conversation partner was her weapon, who had very possibly been on the lookout for her and only concerned. But he interrupted her training and now she couldn't keep hitting the trees to sort her thoughts. Soul knew her much too well than to leave her alone now.

"I can see that. But you were supposed to be with your mom and Deathscythe." Supposed to. Not anymore she wasn't. "I was wondering what happened when you didn't come home. And when I got to the restaurant you were going to, you weren't there. All I found were your parents fighting like little kids."

Great. She really had worried him after all. This night just got better and better, didn't it?

Soul looked at her and if she hadn't known that he didn't have soul perception, she would have sworn he was looking right into her soul right now. But instead, she just knew that he knew her really, really well and that – soul perception or not – he could figure her out just as easily as she could see his soul, his jagged, protective, loyal soul that adored so much. He sighed. "Come on then, let's do some 'training' or whatever you wanna call it. I know you fight better with a weapon, so don't go and deal with everything yourself, bookworm." Wrong. She didn't fight better with a weapon. She fought better with him. But the alone part – he was probably right about that one. She nodded. Soul wordlessly took her hand and moments later he was grinning at her from the blade of the scythe in her hands. "Isn't this better?"

Yes, it was. A hundred times better. Just feeling the cold metal in her hand made her feel lighter and more confident. She smiled at him and mouthed 'better', to which he responded with the widening of his crooked grin.

_Twirl._

It felt good, like a rush of adrenaline and power and relief all at the same time. She wondered why she hadn't asked him to train with her from the beginning on. _"It's because you're a stubborn idiot."_, Soul chided in her head. She agreed. There was no feeling more marvellous than this one and she should have gotten over herself and asked him to help her before blindly hitting the trees in a desperate attempt to forget the evening.

_Slash. Slash. Block._

Why had she gotten so angry again? Her father's womanising was nothing new, she knew his antics, had known them long enough. He wasn't exactly obliged to only look at her mother, not anymore, not when they were long separated. Especially since he had been womanising even back when Mama had still been with them.

_Slash. Twirl. Slash. Block. Slash._

And if he and Mama fought – that wasn't anything new either, was it? Papa was womanising like always and Mama didn't like it like always. They'd get into an argument about it and forget about it the next day to start a new one, just like they had always done so long ago. Wasn't it actually good to know that none of them had changed from the people she had known as a child?

_Slash._

Maybe she shouldn't have overreacted that much. Maybe she should have just told them to quit it and behave like proper adults for one evening. Maybe she should really do that the next time they did something together as a not-quite family. And maybe then she would actually enjoy their get-together. _"It isn't as if you normally take Deathscythe's crap, just hit him with your books like you do to me."_, Soul snickered inside of her head. She scoffed. She really should have done that, shouldn't she? _"Probably, yeah"_, Soul immediately commented on her thought_, "but you definitely should do _something_ about it. Or else you're really going to destroy the whole forest the next time something like this happens."_ Yeah, she thought back. I know.

_**Resonance.**_

* * *

"Thanks, Soul.", Maka said quietly when they were walking back home. She had really needed that and he had probably noticed the second he saw her abusing the trees in her frustration and anger. He could read her better than any book and Maka realized that she liked it that way.

"No problem. Just don't go off alone the next time you have problem. I'm your weapon, Maka, that means I actually want to help you with stuff like that." She knew. She knew so very well that he'd meant every word..

"I get it. I will."

She really couldn't have asked for a better partner.


	4. Dragons

**Day 4 – Dragons**

_No matter how cool you are, when your son asks you to dress up as dragons together for halloween, you do it._

* * *

"Daddy. Daddydaddy_daaaddyyyyyy."_

Soul groaned. What time was it? Four? No, three. It was three in the fucking morning and he'd gotten home late from one of those stupid solo missions. He was sure that he'd just started sleeping. That or he just hadn't gotten enough shuteye yet and it showed as he groggily sat up. He shifted under the covers, quietly, so as to not wake Maka, and turned to the voice. In the doorstep, he saw his son standing with eyes glowing from excitement and giddiness. His son that definitely should have been sleeping, for both Soul's and the boy's own health. But now that Ethan had woken him up already, Soul could just as well listen to what he had to say.

"C'mere. But quiet, don't wanna wake your mother.", Soul whispered and Ethan nodded, slowly and as quietly as he could making his way to his parents' bed. He crawled into Soul's lap when he was there, throwing his arms around his father – or at least trying to – and nuzzling his face into Soul's stomach. Soul's eyes softened. For all the anxiety he had been feeling when Maka had been pregnant, Ethan was well worth the mood swings, the cravings and the assaults from an angry Spirit Albarn (who technically didn't have a right to complain since he'd given Maka to him on their wedding day) and the fear to do something – _everything_ – wrong. It had been one hell of a ride, but he was glad to be able to say that he'd suffered through it. He'd gotten the most wonderful son he could have ever imagined in exchange for all his troubles and he wasn't above letting Ethan know that.

"I'm back, Ethan." He could almost feel his little boy smiling into his stomach, except that he couldn't really, not with the sheet still lying halfway between them. It didn't matter though, as Ethan mumbled something between 'welcome back' and 'I missed you' into his shirt. Soul pried him off him, because there was no way he'd understand what his son was telling him if he kept speaking to his navel. "So, what was so important that you had to wake me up? Usually you can wait until the next morning."

Ethan straightened up, the glow in his eyes intensifying. "I can. I just really, _really _want to know something right now." He didn't go on, encouraging his father to ask on, to ask what exactly he meant by that. Soul smiled at his kid's antics before doing him the favour. "And what do you wanna ask me?"

"Well", Ethan began, "when you were away, I watched this really awesome movie with mommy. It had dragons in it and they were so cool and canwedressupasdragonsthishalloweenplease?"

Soul tried to reconstruct what his son had said. Ethan had spoken much too fast again, like at kid with his energy would. Something about dragons and a movie and something he could really not make sense of. "What was the movie called?"

Ethan almost sparkled as he proceeded to enlighten his father. "It was this really good movie named how to train your dragon. So can we pretty please dress up as dragons this halloween?" Ethan finished by making puppy eyes at Soul. He'd thought Maka's puppy eyes were effective, but that was before Ethan had been born. Ethan's puppy eyes gave a whole new meaning to the word 'effective'. "Me too, then?", Soul asked, already half anticipating, half dreading the answer.

"Pretty please?" Soul sighed. That was it then. There would go the last bit of his cool reputation. But like the unwritten Bro Code, there was also some universal rule stating that no matter how cool you were, when your son wanted you to dress up as a dragon, you dress up as a dragon. No questions asked.

"Alright. But Ethan-" his son glanced at him with an expectant expression "-go to bed now before your mother really does wake up." Hearing that, Ethan scrambled off Soul's lap and quickly disappeared into his own room, but not without whispering a last "g'night, daddy".

Soul droopily got back into the warm covers. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

The next morning, Ethan was slightly more subdued than usually, probably from lack of sleep, and Maka had apparently decided that the fact that he was here again deserved a feast, because she made pancakes, the ones with strawberries in them, something that only happened once in a blue moon. Soul kissed her quickly before sitting down at the table. Ethan, sleepy as he was, was already eyeing the mountain of pancakes and they really shouldn't make him wait any longer, even though he very much wanted to kiss his wife some more. He'd missed Maka and she'd already been asleep when he got home, so he had a serious craving to touch her in every possible way. Not in front of their son though, that would be more than just a little inappropriate.

Shoving a load of pancakes into his plate himself, Soul began to eat, occasionally answering a question from Maka as to how his mission went.

"Ethan, did you ask your dad already?" Maka asked. Ethan just nodded and proceeded shoving the next pancake into his waiting mouth. Maka seemed content with his answer, not noticing that that meant Ethan had been up that night. Better that way. "Are you two going costume shopping later then?" They'd probably have to, huh. He wasn't really a big fan of shopping trips and he knew that his son wasn't either.

"It's okay", Ethan chimed in, "Jace said he still had some." Well then, problem solved. Marie's and Stein's son had a knack for sewing and he always liked tailoring clothes. In a way, it was like Jace's father's obsession with dissecting bodies and sewing together different body parts, only a lot more harmless. Which was good, they didn't need any more madmen.

"Alright, kiddo. Then it's a promise. On halloween we're going to be the coolest dragons around." Soul grinned at Ethan, who grinned back with the same sharp-toothed smile. He'd survive the blow to his cool persona, alright, and trick-or-treating with Ethan actually sounded nice.

He just hoped the costumes weren't too ridiculous.

* * *

"Why don't you have to dress up as a dragon?", Soul whined to Maka, who was dressed in a normal shirt and skirt (not a mini-skirt anymore, something Soul actually missed) and it was totally unfair, because halloween this year was sweltering and the dragon costumes were like massive heaters and he was almost definitely going to have a heatstroke.

Maka hmphed. "Look at your son, Soul, Ethan is perfectly fine and he is wearing the same kind of costume. _I'm_ not dressing up because I did that last year, where _you_" she glared at him "were making fun of my superhero outfit." Oh, yeah, that had happened, hadn't it? He'd forgotten that little tidbit. But she'd looked really ridiculous and he couldn't help teasing her. Her reactions were just too cute, even after all those years.

"Trick or TREAT!" Together they watched Ethan excitedly run all over the place, aiming to get the most sweets in Death City.

"Sorry about the Superman thing", he murmured under his breath, "that wasn't cool." Maka looked a bit surprised at first, but then she smiled. "Me too. That costume must be heating you up something fierce." It was. But he got to go trick-or-treating with Ethan and Maka and even if the dragon costume was killing him, it was alright, because he got to spend time with his two most important people.

"You know, I really missed you", Maka quietly admitted. He nodded. He'd missed her too. He always missed her when he was away. Fumbling a little with the fingers of the costume, the temporary dragon linked his and his wife's hand. And she was smiling again, that special little smile that managed to light the whole world and turn his insides to mush. He was just about to kiss her when -

"Mommy! Daddy! Look how much candy I got from Auntie Blair!" And Soul laughed, because it was moments like these, imperfect but heartwarming, that made him love his little family so much. Maka and Ethan were his world and as sappy as it sounded, he was not ashamed to admit it. The bigger dragon reached for the smaller dragon's hand.

"Come on, Ethan. We're going home."

And they did, together. The three of them.


	5. Night Swimming

**Day 5 – Night Swimming**

_In which skinny dipping in Shibusen's pool is a habit for Soul and Maka that makes her feel more than a little insecure._

rated M

* * *

Skinny dipping in Shibusen's pool is very probably all kinds of illegal. But it's kind of different when you're friends with the new Shinigami and his weapons and have been for a while. At least it's like that for her and Soul, because no one dares to sneak into Shibusen at night anyway and Kid doesn't really care as long as it's them.

She wonders when this all started, why they began to privately use Shibusen's pool at night. She can't come up with anything more than a hazy memory of Soul saying it's cool and her going along, even if she's exasperated with him and nervous and apprehensive about breaking rules.

One way or the other they've fallen into the habit of night swimming at least twice a month. It takes the stress off the both of them and even if she was against this at first, she really can't complain anymore, because being a teacher at Shibusen is hard and both she and Soul need this to relax – her shoulders never even _don't _seem to have kinks in them anymore and her back is permanently stiff. If the way Soul whines about the teaching position is any indication, he doesn't feel much better than her.

Or maybe he does, because unsociable students and problem children aren't the only thing on her mind. She also has to deal with the very real problem of being attracted to her weapon. And there is one thing that weighs on her mind, one thing that has never happened in all the years they've practised their habit of skinny dipping.

Sou has not – not _once_ – looked at her while she undressed.

She knows she has gotten quite a few good glances at him and sometimes even downright ogled him. It's hard not to when one is as attracted to their partner as she is. And it's not like she is still the same no-good to look at flat-chest she once was, although she admits she still doesn't have an outstanding bust. Average, maybe, but no Blair.

But Soul is a healthy young man and healthy young men have hormones or are at least supposed to, goddammit, is her body really such a turn-off? Not even in their teenage days, when they first started their little escapades, has he looked at her. At the beginning, she actually found it thoughtful and nice, because she didn't have to worry about a boy sneaking glances at her, even if he was her partner. But now that she likes her weapon a little bit too much for it to be still friendship, the way he so easily averts his eyes from her body is confidence-shattering. She'd like at least the occasional appreciative look just to know that she at least has a chance with him body-wise. Apparently she doesn't. Not until hell freezes over or a miracle happens. Her chances don't look too good right now.

She sneaks a glance at Soul, who is already in the water, eyes faithfully staring into the night sky, or really just somewhere away from her. She is slipping off her underwear and it doesn't seem to interest him in the slightest. Would a normal hot-blooded male be able to do that? Is she really that unattractive?

And then an idea pops into her head, a good, shameless and ingenious idea. At least she thinks it's good, because it's a surefire way to find out if Soul is attracted to her. It might also be a surefire way to get Soul to stop being her partner. She doesn't really want to contemplate that alternative.

"Soul."

He turns around at the sound of his name, no doubt expecting her to be in the water already. She isn't. He whips his head back as fast as possible and she thinks that it might have not been such an ingenious idea after all, but then she notices the stains of crimson on his cheeks.

"W-what the hell, Maka? I thought you were …" he trails off in a miserable and strained voice. In the water, she finishes in her thoughts. In the safe zone. She breathes in. Out. Gathers her courage.

"I wanted you to look at me." Her voice is small and not how she wanted to sound like. Where did her confidence go? What happened to her want to make things clear, to know once and for all if she has any chance with him? Soul turns around, slowly and deliberately, giving her time to change her mind. Stares at her for a while when she doesn't. Then manages a disbelieving "What?"

She can feel her own cheeks heat up as she speaks. "I mean, you never look at me, you never even once looked at me, and I thought … I thought …" Soul doesn't keep his gaze off her anymore. It's the opposite actually, because he's looking at her so intensely now that she wonders if that emotion in his eyes is hunger for her.

"Well, I'm looking", he rasps out and his eyes are so smouldering and he's so much nearer her now (when has he done that?) and she really wants to touch him. Decision made, she quickly takes a few steps into the water, Soul's eyes following her. She's standing in front of him now and the way he blatantly ogles her chest that she doesn't cover by slinking deeper into the water for once is enough to make her heart soar. The next thing she knows there are hands digging into her scalp and furiously moving lips against her mouth and his body is so, _so _close that she wants to sigh in relief. She doesn't, because all that comes out of her mouth are strangled moans, because his hands have moved to fondle a breast and stroke over her hipbone and for a millisecond she thinks they're moving too fast. But then she remembers that she's been horny for this man for too many years now and that she actually really wants to have sex with him and the thought is dismissed. She wraps her legs around his waist, grinding against him when he tugs her closer as she claws on the muscles of his back. Death, she wants him so much.

She can feel his kisses getting harsher and more demanding, his hips thrusting into hers with desperate abandon and it feels so good to feel him harden against her most private part that she's more than a little disconcerted when everything suddenly stops.

She looks up, confused, to a panting Soul and realizes she is equally out of breath. He shakes his head, getting his breath back first before he can speak. "I think … we should move this somewhere else if you really wanna go on." Going on sounds good, _very_ good, she realizes and gives another grind with her hips to make it clear that she _wants_. But she was quite happy with their water plays, so why-?

He shakes his head again, reading the emotions from her face. "Don't get me wrong, I want to have sex with you, I _really_ want to have sex with you. Hell, I'd be glad if this kind of thing" he gestures to the water "could become a common thing." He wants to have sex with her. She's pretty sure she just died a little on the inside from overheating. She wants it too, so much, and her body shrieks at her with want. She wants to continue so badly. "But …" Soul looks her in the eyes, "… for the first time, I don't want it like this." Warmth fills her. Of course. This is Soul, who always wants the best for her, who has always gone out of his way for her. Why had she thought it would be any different with this?

She nods and releases him from her legs' grip around him and he looks as disappointed as he looks relieved. She giggles slightly and leans forward to whisper in his ear. "I cant wait to get home." He staggers, eyes wide and hazed, nodding hastily.

They've never gotten home quite as fast as they do that night.


	6. Worth It

**Day 6 – Worth It**

_In the early days of their partnership, Soul asks himself if picking Maka Albarn as his meister was really worth it._

* * *

Sometimes, Soul wonders.

He knows he chose Maka Albarn as his partner because there is _something_ about her, something different that he really wants to see more often. She who is the only one that likes his music (Wes doesn't count because Wes is always sucking up to everyone). But most of the time he just wonders how the hell they've managed not to kill each other yet.

Because as nice as Maka is, sometimes he really can't describe her as anything else than high-strung and violent. Also, she butts into his personal space too much, because he's kind of really afraid to get close to someone else and she does it too easily, barging into his sphere of privacy like it's nothing and it gets him all clammy and defensive. For some reason he can't fathom she seems to like spending time with him, even if he knows that they won't last half an hour before they get into an argument again.

Another thing he really can't stand is how much of a study-bug Maka is. Bad enough that she prefers reading one of her books to chilling outside, but she also nags so freaking much when there's a test coming up, as if she thinks that he cares about that stuff even just half as much as her. He doesn't and it's really annoying when there's her breathing down his neck all _"you know your grade affects mine"_ and _"have you studied already?"_

And don't even get him started on her menace of a father. He has to constantly live with the fear of one day finding his nuts chopped off just because he's a dude and Spirit Albarn apparently can't handle a guy living with his 'darling daughter' and crap, even if the man knows it's only for the sake of their partnership (and probably also because Maka wanted to get away from her creepy as hell dad). Death threats aren't exactly something Soul wants to hear, but he has to because he made the choice (mistake?) of partnering with Maka Albarn.

There's also the issue with her temper and with the fact that she abuses him with books when she feels like it. Who the hell does that anyway? One of these days he is going to suffer serious brain damage from her blows and it's going to be her damn fault. But if she _wants_ a non-functioning weapon, all she has to do is continue to do exactly what she is doing now. And because he is maybe not be as bad-tempered, but equally as stubborn and as unwilling to give way as Maka is, the two of them always get into fights over the smallest things. And they always escalate until either of them leaves the apartment or they stop talking to each other altogether. They make up of course, but it takes time and he found out the hard way that he doesn't like Maka giving him the cold shoulder.

Because underneath it all, he actually likes her and finds her an interesting person, no matter how nerdy and naggy she can get sometimes. And he really doesn't want to get on her bad side. He's her partner, even if he is part of the gender that she has long since labeled 'The Enemy' and for some reason she trusts him with her life in battle. It's kind of weird to think that even though he doesn't like her (or anyone really) touching him in the simplest of ways, he trusts her too. More than anyone else.

That's probably all the reason why he's still her weapon and why she's still his meister. They've been both broken just enough that the trust they have now makes all the bickering, the nagging, the overprotective man-slut known as Spirit Albarn and the nights where he wants to apologize but can't worth it. It's what makes _everything_ worth it and he's probably stupid for doubting it in the first place. Because even if they haven't known each other for that long, he knows that she's something rare, something he'll regret letting go of and because of that, Maka Albarn will _always_ be worth it.

_(Even if he has his doubts sometimes)_


	7. Coming of Age

**Day 7 – Coming of Age**

_Maka just wants her birthday kiss already._

* * *

Maka liked birthday kisses.

That was an undeniable fact that had been established in her teens, when Soul confessed to her on her fifteenth birthday with – right – a kiss. Or two. Or three. Or more than she had counted, actually.

That was also why it was no wonder that Maka especially looked forward to the birthday kisses she'd receive from Soul. And why it was definitely no wonder why she was miffed that now, on her eighteenth birthday, her grand coming of age, she hadn't gotten her birthday kiss yet.

There were two reasons for that.

One was the solo-mission Soul had taken two weeks ago. The mission that should have only lasted a few days, but dragged on for a bit too long. On her birthday morning, there was no Soul in her bed that she could get her kiss from, because he was still sitting on the plane back from Germany. He'd promised that he'd be there, but it would take at least until afternoon.

Maka had played scribble with Blair after waking up and having breakfast, because the cat was actually much smarter than she looked and because birthdays without Soul (or his kisses) weren't exactly what she wanted.

After that, Black Star and Tsubaki, Kid, Liz and Patty had come over and with them her idiot Papa had somehow sneaked his way in and when Soul finally came home (after she had already had to endure an inebriated Black Star and a Patty high on sugar) they still hadn't left. Neither had her father. And somehow, all of them – _especially_ her father – had seemed to have made it their mission to prevent Maka from getting her birthday kiss. Which was the second reason for her non-kiss dilemma.

At first the not so sober Black Star had tripped Soul into a piece of cake that somebody had left standing on the floor and an equally drunk Liz had stated that she wouldn't allow him to kiss the birthday girl if he ended up smearing cake all over her while doing so. While she absolutely didn't care that the birthday girl _wanted_ to kiss him, cake or not.

Soul ended up showering anyway (reluctantly) and at 5 pm, Maka had still not gotten her birthday kiss.

A while later, when she saw the freshly showered Soul, she had been ready to pounce him, but her Papa had beaten her to it, armed with another piece of cake he'd thrown at her boyfriend, cackling madly while shouting that Soul wouldn't be getting his baby girl. Which she wasn't anymore. She was an adult, she could make her own decisions. And right now, those decisions mostly consisted of kissing Soul. She just wanted one little birthday kiss! Was that too much to ask for?

Apparently it was, because after two showers Soul had taken, her father had still somehow managed to keep him away from her and tag-teamed with Black Star – who seemed to be intent on cockblocking even the most innocent actions – they had played the game Keep Maka From Getting Her Birthday Kiss. They had played it for hours – and hours – _and hours_. And they would have gone on had she not had enough of it at 10 pm and threw all of them out of her and Soul's apartment, because as nice as birthday parties were and as much as she loved her friends, this was _her_ birthday and on her birthday Maka wanted special kisses from Soul.

No later than closing the door and effectively shutting everyone else out, Maka felt hands ghosting up her sides and she turned around to face Soul with a relieved smile. He smiled back, all crooked grin and sharp teeth, the combination that she loved so much, and the next thing she did was lean up and close her lips firmly over his.

_Finally._

She pulled him closer when he parted her lips, deepening their kiss. _This._ This was what the birthday present she had wanted most, the one she had waited too long for. There wasn't much left of her birthday after all, but she planned on filling it all with Soul's kisses.

She buried her face in his chest when they broke apart for air. "Happy birthday, Maka." Yes. Yes, it was. She laughed quietly before she pressed her mouth against his again, this time more insistently, hands clutching his shirt while she tugged his body as close as possible, creating the barest hint of friction between them. Soul groaned into her mouth and brought her even closer to him, kissing her long and hard and longingly. Maka could clearly tell that he had waited for this birthday kiss just as much as her, a knowledge that made her feel so warm and loved inside that it almost took her breath away.

They spent the rest of Maka's birthday kissing, many, many times over and for the rest of the night, she was drunk on happiness and Soul's kisses.

The kisses that really did take her breath away.

* * *

**Finally, the last chapter. I'm sorry for taking so long with this one, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.**

**Libri**


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